Mitten



C. G. WELLS April 6, 1943.

MITTEN Filed July. 2s, 1942 Patented Apr. 6, 1943 OFFICE." fi

2,315,889 wn'rTEN Carroll G.' Wells, Washington, D. C. Application July 28, 1942,` lSerial No. 452,601

- Gra-nted under the act of March 3, 1883, 'as

amended April 30, 1928; 370 O. G. 757) 2 Claims.

v The invention described-herein, if patented, may be manufactured and used by or'for the Government for governmental purposes, without the payment to me of any royalty thereon.

The present invention relates'to mittens, and more particularly to fa novel camouflage mitten having an exterior surface-vof patterned fabric designed to blend with the appearance of the na,- tural surroundings in which military troops may be operating and to thereby afford the greatest possible protection to the individual soldier; the mittens being arranged, however, so that the palm, the thumb, and back portion of the hand may be folded back along the wrist of the mitten so that the soldier may uncover the fingers of the hand and make possible the efficient use of vfire arms.

camouflaging effect ofthe pattern of the cloth` shall be as eiective as possible.

The principal object of the present invention, therefore, resides in the provision of a large, over-sized, loosely fitting camouiiaged mitten of novel design and construction such as to permit the complete concealment .of the hands of a soldier and yet having a transverse joint so designed that a portion of the mitten may be separated and folded back to permit free use of the soldiers hands.

Referring now more particularly to the drawing attached to and forming a part ofthe pres'- ent specication, v

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view ofa mitten constructed in accordance with the teachings of the present disclosure.

- Fig. 2 is a rear elevational view thereof.

Fig. 3 is a front elevational view similar to Fig. 1 but showing the thumb and hand -portions of the mitten folded back to permit' use of the fingers, and

Fig. 4 is a rear elevational view of the nutten in the position illustrated in Fig. 3.

The entire mitten is preferably formed of thin fabric having an over-al1 camouflage pattern (not shown) that may be of any one of several designs formed to alford a. high degree of protection against observation. The mitten illustrated in the drawings comprises the present preferred embodiment of the invention, andincludes a front side, a back, and a thumb. The

front side may be said, generally, to consist of a flat palm portion a flat wrist portion |2, and a thumb insert I3. The upper side of the wrist portion I2 is cut away to form an inside thumb piece I4, which is folded on the fold line I5 to project forwardly in face to face relationship to the palm portion of the mitten. The upper surface of the front of the glove is formed by an extension of the thumb insert I3 sewed to the wrist portion I2 along the seam I6, and the material I3 includes a forward extension I1 united to the thumb I3 by the stitching I8 to form the outside of the thumb.

The back side of the mittenconsists of a back hand portion 2| united rto the palm portion I| of the front of the mitten by a line of stitching 22 extending from the point 23 at the base of the thumb completely around the palm II to the point 24 directly across from the point 23. Thusl the back portion 2| includes a straight edge 25 extending directly across the back of the mitten and at right angles to the edges of .the palm or front and back sides, and this edge 25 is located to correspond with the fold I4 of the thumb for purposes that will hereafter appear. It vwill also be noted that the back hand o f the portion` of the mitten is entirely independent from. the back Awrist portion and is supported wholly bythe stitching 22 to which it is joined to the palm 2 I.

The back wrist section 21 consists of a single piece of fabric material having one edge joined to the thumb and front wrist insert I3 by ay line of stitching 28 and having its other opposite edge joined to the lower edge of the wrist portion I2 by the line-of stitching 29.A The stitching 28 extends from the point 23 to the rear extremity of the glove andthe stitching 29 also extends from the point 24 tothe rear extremity ofthe glove. l

The rear wrist portion 2l includes a pointed iiap 3| extending over the edge 25 of the rear hand portion 2| and including side edges 32 and 33. tapering inwardly to a snap fastner 34, which :serves to unite lthe rear or back wrist portion with the back hand portion of the mitten so that the hand and palm thereof are usually maintained in position to cover the hand of the wearer. If desired, the wrist portion of the mitten may be provided with a take-up cord 35 and a flap 33 so that the mitten may be tightened around the wrist of the wearer.

aid in recognition. When in this position theA hand of the wearer will be not easily susceptible to observation and (since it is contemplated that the entire uniform of the soldier is to be of similar material and similarly camouaged) the individual wearer will be quite well protected against.

hostile observation. This type of camouiiage provides excellent protection, but it will be understood that it is highly desirable to provide some means whereby the fingers of the hand may be used freely and without any obstruction, so that fire arms may beused without interference due to the loose, over-sizefdesign of the mitten. This is accomplished in the present invention by unfastening the snap 34 and folding the entire hand of the mitten, including the back hand portion 2|, palm Il, and thumb sections I3 and l1, back into fiat face-to-face relationship with the wrist portion l2 as shown in Fig. 3. This allows the wearers hand (that is, the palm, thumb and ngers) to extend from the body of the mitten so as to be entirely free for use. It will be seen from an examination of Fig. 4, however, that even with the hand in this uncovered position the nap 3l of the rear wrist portion 21 will extend along the back of the hand so that the edges 32 and 33 lie adjacent the base of theA fingers and thus conceal all of the back of the hand except the fingers and thumb.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that by following the teachings of this invention it is possible to provide an effective camouflage mitten that is of great Value in protecting military troops against hostile observation, since it is effective to afford concealment to the handsof the wearer irrespective of whether the individual is barehanded or whether he is equipped with gloves. In this connection it may be pointed out' that it is contemplated that the present type of mitten is not limited to use over the bare hands of the wearer but is equally well adapted touse over any types of gloves that might otherwise be easily recognizable and therefore require some type of cover.

Further, the mittens of the present invention provide adequate concealment'and yet afford instantfreedomof the hands so that when theV mitten is folded backwardly on its transverse joint the wearer will be 'able to manipulate fire arms,

et cetera, without any interference from the fab-A ric of the mitten'. In addition, the ap'on the rear wrist portion extends well up over the back of the hand and serves to partially conceal the hand ofthe wearer even when thev palm is-completelyv uncovered. l Y

It may benoted also that the present invention has vbeen developed in the United States Army to meet military needs and that the exact formation 'illustrated in the drawing is believed tobe the most satisfactory for the purpose. It is recognized, however, that deviations from the exact structure shown in the drawing may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, and it is accordingly requested that the scope of the present invention be determined by the language of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. As an art of manufacture, a mitten comprising, in general, a front side, a back side and a thumb portion; the front side consisting of a palm section the full width of the mitten, a thumb, and a wrist section extending rearwardly from the palm to the end of the mitten; the back side of the mitten consisting of a back hand portion corresponding in shape to the palm portion of the front side and united therewith by a line of stitching extending completely around the palm from a point adjacent the base of the thumb to a point directly opposite the thumb base; said back hand portion terminating at the rear in a straight edge extending across the mitten from the opposite ends of said stitching, and arranged to permit folding against the front wrist to expose the hand of the wearer, and a. wrist portion the full Width of the mitten and having its edges united with the opposite edges of the front side of the mitten by opposite lines of stitching; the wrist portion including a iiap extending forwardly over the back surface of the back hand portion, said flap being pointed and having a' fastener adjacent the point; the arrangement being such that the nap of the rear wrist portion extends over the back of the hand and conceals the hand to the base of the fingers.

2. As an art of manufacture, a mitten comprising, in general, a front side, a back side and a thumb portion; the front side consistingk of a palm section the full width of the mitten, a thumb, and a wrist section extending rearwardly from the palm tothe end of the mitten; the back side of the mittenl consisting of a back hand portion corresponding in shape to the palm portion of the front side and united therewith by a line .of stitching extending completely around the palm from a point adjacent. the base of theV thumb to a point directly opposite the thumb base; said back hand portion terminating at. the rear in a straight edge extending across the mitten from the opposite ends of said stitching, and a wrist portion the full width. ofv thev mitten and having its edges united. with the opposite edgesV of the front sideof the mittenv by opposite lines of stitching; the wrist portion including a. flap extending forwardly over the back surface of the back hand portion, said. flap being pointed and having a fastener adjacent theA point; the arrangement being s'uch that the back hand section of the mitten is. supported only by stitching interconnecting it with the palm so that the straight rear edge of the back hand sectionforms atransverse j oint to permit thepalmA and thumb to be folded back into: fiat, relationship with the wrist of the. mitten toiuncovel' the. palm and fingers of. they Wearers. hands.

CARROLL GEORGE WELLS.. 

